Negotiations over, contract reached

Three years of talks between village, union group conclude with agreement

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013 10:00 PM

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Village president gives pep talk

The village board approved two resolutions related to local union contracts Monday, but Village President Anan

Abu-Taleb was the only one to comment on the matter.Abu-Taleb said he was glad the issue has moved forward and directed his comments at village staff, providing a pep talk about offering good customer service.

"We want you to have a positive work environment, and we want you to feel valued, but we also want to provide our customers with a positive experience every time. Our customers are the taxpayers and God knows they pay a lot to live and do business in Oak Park," he said. "You are the front line and you are the face of our village. … You are the one who interacts with our customers and you can make a difference in the experience we want to provide.

"Say 'hello' when you see a customer approaching you. Be welcoming to our customers. If you can't help them, find someone who can. … Help us change the perception that we are a difficult town to invest in. And by doing so, you help yourself to keep your job and earn a bonus."

The president's comments wrapped up with encouraging staff and the village to move forward together now that negotiations have ended.

"Let us focus on creating better relations between the union and the village," he said. "Let us focus on serving our community and let us focus on making Oak Park a better place."

The village of Oak Park and the union representing roughly 75 village employees have ended their three-year negotiation process.

The village has been in negotiations with leaders of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 since the fall of 2010. Multiple failed negotiations led to a strike in July 2012. Twenty-seven employees and a group of vocal union supporters protested outside village hall for two-days before returning to work and negotiations.

According to a resolution approved Monday at a special village board meeting, union membership voted to approve the contract agreed upon by village and union leaders on Sept. 12. The contract provides a 1.5 percent general wage increase, plus the possibility of a 1.25 percent merit incentive pay boost each year. In addition, according to the document, the "pay-for-performance incentive" was moved from a base-wage increase to a lump sum incentive payment.

Merit-based pay, vacation policy pay and the wage increase were the main sticking points that left negotiations halted in the most recent negotiations. Wednesday Journal reported last year that the village was offering about a 1 percent wage increase plus a 1 percent merit increase. At the time, however, union officials worried the village was trying to take away the union's ability to file grievances when merit increases are decided.

That's where negotiations hit a snag.

Village officials said during the time of the strike that if a compromise had been reached earlier, employees would have seen about a 2.5 percent merit increase, based on the last round of evaluations.

Last July, non-union village hall employees received a 2 percent pay increase. They got the raise for the first time in roughly three and a half years because of a previous wage freeze, said David Powers, village communication manager. Negotiations then halted other wage or merit increases because employers were working without a contract.

Details of the contract for the collective bargaining agreement relate to wages, merit incentives, overtime, vacation and sick benefits, and general health-care costs. The initial village documents available publicly don't provide what those details are. The contract is for 70 full-time employees and five part-time employees with annual salaries ranging between $30,392 and $73,346. The contract is effective until Dec. 31, 2014.

During the strike last year, union employees and a union spokesman relayed the concerns of the group. Claims of favoritism and empty promises of merit-based increases without actually budgeting for the possible increases were some of the complaints at the time. Of the 76-person union membership that voted to authorize a strike, 43 votes were cast in favor, with 8 voting against. Twenty-five members did not vote. The 2 percent increase the union initially sought would have amounted to $75,000 a year across all the employees, according to Adam Rosen, Local 73 SEIU communications director. The 1.5 percent wage increase agreed upon in the most recent contract was a compromise.

Also approved Monday was another collective bargaining agreement which affects 10 employees in the water and sewer division of the Public Works Department. Those negotiations began in January 2012 after the employees changed unions. The village received notice the union approved the contract on Sept. 11.

That contract provides a 1 percent general-wage increase and a 1.5 percent merit-incentive payment in each contract term. The employees in this union group are paid between $22.80 and $32.69 per hour.

The heavily-negotiated collective bargaining agreement for the 75 employees is for multiple departments such as public works, clerical police employees, and general administration. The details of this particular negotiation caused a minor tiff following an Aug. 19 village board meeting when Village President Anan Abu-Taleb spoke publicly about details of an executive session.

"It is public knowledge that we as a board have been meeting in executive session about collective bargaining," Abu-Taleb said Aug. 19. "We as a board are committed to a positive environment. We are committed to our staff and we want to have the best possible relationship. We are serious about trying to resolve this issue and I hope that the union is also thinking in the same terms because nothing would make us happier than getting it done," he continued. "I hope that the same positive attitude we have on the board is going to be reflected in the union."

Board members didn't get a chance to pipe in before the meeting was adjourned, but trustees Ray Johnson and Glenn Brewer both spoke soon after to the president about their concern about his comments.

"There is nothing to say at this moment except that we want to be fair to employees and we want to be fair for taxpayers," Johnson said Aug. 19, following the board meeting. "We will move forward in a collective manner and we were not there yet."

Per Monday's board approval it appears, after three years, the village is there now.

@Won't change a thing. I agree a simple hello goes a long way. I am a male African American, I went to River Forest to speak to an officer. I was in sweat pants and a t-shirt because I was jogging. While waiting in the police lobby an officer in a white shirt came down the stairs, said hello and asked if I was being helped. After I told him I was, he smiled and said "ok I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you". He acknowledged my presence which I thought was what customer service is about.

joe from South oak park

Posted: September 27th, 2013 10:53 AM

This sounds like how things are supposed to work. The employees and the employer negotiate wages and benefits. 1% general increase 1.5% merit increase barely keep up with inflation and are not unreasonable demands by any stretch of the imagination. As far as the salary is concerned, $22.8 to $32.7 an hour is not unreasonable. It's definitely a good livable wage. Most likely higher that what a private company would pay, but then again the local government has a greater effect on folks.

Luke ScottWalker from Oak Park

Posted: September 27th, 2013 9:40 AM

I support the workers. I do not support their union.

resident

Posted: September 26th, 2013 11:19 PM

Ray Johnson is a little too late to jump on Anan's lead without looking the fool. If Mr. Johnson was really worried about taxpayer dollars he would have done a better job holding the line on spending during his many years on the board. The employee raises are insignificant compared to the wasted dollars and projects of the Johnson/Pope era.

Bill Dwyer

Posted: September 26th, 2013 10:29 AM

Two words, Uncommon Sense: "Institutional memory." And two more words: "Learning curve.".....Concepts to ponder for all the rest of us who have to make do with mere common sense.

Tired of Taxes from Oak Park

Posted: September 25th, 2013 4:58 PM

I liked Anan's pep talk. Basically he is asking the VOP staffers to act like regular humans act who work in non-government/non-post office jobs.

Uncommon Sense

Posted: September 25th, 2013 2:03 PM

I say fire them all. There are plenty of people who would love the opportunity to work for the village at reasonable wages and not burdern the village with ridiculous union demands.

Done from Oak Park

Posted: September 25th, 2013 1:43 PM

It took three years to hammer out a deal that lasts for 15 months?

Jim Coughlin from Oak Park, Illinois Facebook Verified

Posted: September 25th, 2013 1:04 PM

Good question, Bob! Let's see if anyone from Village Hall is willing to provide those details.

Bob Simpson from Oak Park, Illinois Facebook Verified

Posted: September 25th, 2013 1:00 PM

So it took 3 years for the Village administration to negotiate a contract with a tiny SEIU local whose initial demands were quite modest and reasonable? I wonder how many billable hours and how much tax payer was wasted on that?

Won't change a thing

Posted: September 25th, 2013 11:45 AM

Maybe they will be a little more friendly and say hello people as they walk in and sit down at their perspective offices waiting to be taken care of. But I doubt it.

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